Taken together, a modest literature suggests that acute and chronic ethanol exposure and withdrawal produce changes in DYN/KOR expression and activity. However, these changes appear dependent on a host of biological and experimental variables, including genetic factors, magnitude of ethanol dose/exposure, and brain region examined. Effects of ethanol on the DYN/KOR system may also depend on whether expression of peptides or receptors is measured. Clearly, there is a need for additional studies that systematically address these variables to better elucidate conditions and mechanisms by which ethanol alters expression and function of the DYN/KOR system. Linking such changes in specific brain regions with ethanol-relevant behavioral phenotypes should be a primary goal of this work.
